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Partners
In
Endowment
M. Olivia Haney, Chair johnolivia@mgwnet.com
The Partners in Endowment Committee, referred to as the P.I.E. Committee, is a Sub Committee of the Budget and Finance Committee of Presbytery. Duties of the P.I.E. Committee include:
Clem Morrison
Tom Holden
John Coleman G. P. Whiteley
The Woodstock Presbyterian
Church has greatly benefited from bequests and special gifts through
the years. The Session has greatly facilitated this by using undesignated
bequests and special gifts for work above and beyond the routine annual
budget that should be fully supported by the regular weekly giving.
The Session has also been faithful in use of bequests and special gifts
to insure that these were used in accordance with the donor’s wishes.
The Session has been astute in assuring that the funds are established
with concise and clear guidelines to facilitate managing and properly using
the funds.
Some examples of the funds and the work follow: A Joseph A. and Susan M. Kincaid Christian Vocational Scholarship Fund was established by the children of a special couple that supported the Woodstock Presbyterian Church through their lives with their time, work and financial giving. The fund is to provide grants-in-aide to full-time students that plan to enter a full-time Christian vocation. The fund has provided grants-in-aide to four individuals. The corpus of the fund has grown by periodic gifts and now produces a significant income that is practical to manage and provide to qualified students. The Rev. Charles D. Symons Jr. Scholarship Fund was recently established by members of the adult Sunday School class taught by our recently retired long time minister. This fund will provide scholarships for students attempting to obtain a degree beyond high school. The Housing Fund was established with the proceeds of the sale of the manse and supplemented with two undesignated bequests. The income from the fund is used towards the payment of the Pastor’s housing allowance. In the years of high interest rates, the housing fund fully funded the allowance. The Capital Improvement Memorial Fund (CIMF) was established by the Session to receive all undesignated gifts given in memory of individuals. Our Church has a grand tradition of members and friends giving cash gifts in memory of Church members, friends and family members when they pass on. The assurance that such gifts will go to a specific use that is above and beyond annual budget/routine expenses serves as an incentive to the givers. This fund has been used for such things as supplementing payment for major overhaul of heating system, installation of sanctuary air conditioning, complete organ rebuild, and purchase of land and construction of the parking lot. The Lessie Sine Mission Fund was provided by a bequest of Lessie Sine that a portion of the proceeds of her estate be given to the Woodstock Presbyterian Church for use in the Home Mission and Foreign Mission work of the Presbyterian Church. The Session established the Fund and guidelines saying the bequest become the corpus of the fund and interest be used for missions. The fund has supported such things as the Haiti, Native Americans, Medical Benevolence Foundation and local mission work. Our Church has received many bequests and special gifts. Major factors in this are: 1. the fact that the Session has an excellent tract record of following the intent of the giver when known or specified, andWe have not formalized these significant factors of encouraging bequests and special gifts. We are working to do this with a formal endowment fund policy. The Partners in Endowment Committee of the Presbytery is assisting us in this effort. They have provided samples of existing and successful endowment instruments from other Churches. They have met with our finance committee and the entire Session. They have reviewed our drafts many times and offered many constructive comments. We hope to have our endowment funds policy in place by January 1, 2003. About 10 years go, our church received notice that it had been named in the will of a deceased member. With no plan in place for handling such a windfall, we were looking at a check for around $400,000. The Session had to make several decisions. Among them were, “Where do we put the money, and how do we use it?” They recognized two values which were not necessarily compatible. One was the need for the current congregation to feel its responsibility to continue to fund the operation of the church. Those who held this view believed that the bequest presented an opportunity for “above and beyond” mission giving. “We don’t want to develop a dependence on this that subsidizes our stinginess.” Others felt that the donor intended to benefit the congregation. “If he wanted the money to go to other missions, he would have given them the money.” The will had tied no strings to the bequest, so the church needed to determine the appropriate use of the funds. The Session decided to use some of the gift for immediate capital expenses, such as a new roof and doors for the church. They determined that the remainder would be invested, with the income to be used for mission projects. Every year, two projects are selected, one “local” and the other “world-wide.” Recipients are usually invited to speak either at a mission dinner or during worship, giving us an opportunity to highlight their work for the congregation. After examining several attractive investment options, it was decided to place the money in the hands of the Presbyterian Foundation. The Foundation had a good track record, and it offered the assurance of “socially responsible” investments. Simply the fact that it said “Presbyterian” also carried some weight. Our experience with the Foundation has been so positive that we have also transferred funds realized from the sale of the manse years ago to the Foundation. Like many small congregations, we see a significant cash flow drop during the summer months. To minimize the impact, we have authorized the treasurer and finance committee to “borrow” from the income of the Fund, returning the money in time for it to be granted to the next year’s mission recipient. In this way, the Fund benefits the congregation, and serves as a “Treasurer’s Ulcer-Avoidance Fund.” Being an action of session, of course, the program for the Fund is always open to amendment by future sessions. The donor in this case had not given to a fund with a particular set of guidelines. He placed the money at the disposal of the church with no direction. We will always live with the tension of how to be good stewards with this gift. That is the blessing and the peril of our situation. I am pleased with the way the session and congregation have responded to this bequest. If we had already had a plan in effect, developed theoretically and methodically, without the pressure of having to act immediately, it would have helped. Looking back on our ten years of experience, I am not sure we could have made wiser choices than we did. Berryville Presbyterian Church 9/9/2003 The Berryville Presbyterian Church has been the recipient of bequests over the years that have been classified as restricted funds and unrestricted funds. All show the interest in God’s work through the church and the desire to have it continue. One of the “restricted funds” is from a deacon ordained in 1889, Benjamin W. Vorous. His will states “in event that said Virginia Vorous shall die unmarried and without issue surviving … residential property shall be sold” … The proceeds of the sale of property was given to the Berryville Presbyterian Church. Annual income from the funds “1/2 toward salary of the pastor …, and 1/2 divided equally between Home and Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church”. In 1979 the Trustees of the Berryville Presbyterian Church received a bequest from the estate of Harriett Ridgeway Barbour, later called the Harriett Barbour Scholarship Fund. The principal is maintained and the income is used for scholarships for young people of the Berryville Presbyterian Church. Harriett joined our church in 1961 after her family moved to Berryville and we learned that she was a missionary in Singapore. Most of her life was involved with teaching, and while in Singapore for a number of years taught at Trinity College. One of the bequests which is classified as “unrestricted funds” was made by Marian Stolle, one of the first women in Shenandoah Presbytery to be ordained a deacon in January 1967. Marian was a life-long member in the Berryville Presbyterian Church and was active in the work of the church, serving as Sunday School teacher, working with young people, Circle, church librarian, and was ordained as an elder in October 1970. Her work days were full, but she always found time to be helpful to many people with whom she came in contact. The “undesignated funds” are used at the recommendation of the Trustees and the discretion of the Session. Our church benefits, still today, from these and other bequests. Hebron Presbyterian
Church
12/2/2003 Those are Our Cattle!? Nestled in the strong agricultural setting of western Augusta County, Hebron Presbyterian Church sits on approximately 30 acres of land. Of this, about 15 acres is a fenced pasture. For over 50 years, the Hewitt family, who are part owners of the local stockyard and have a very large farm nearby, have arranged for cattle to be purchased each spring and sold in the fall. These cattle graze behind the church. Not many other churches can talk about their own cattle herd! Much of the surrounding land around Hebron consists of farms, mostly devoted to grazing cattle. Many of the Hebron congregants are involved in agriculture enterprises. So it is very fitting that this land be used for such a purpose. But what is the purpose, one may ask. Certainly, Hebron does not intend to purchase cattle futures or become a cattle-marketing enterprise. However, in perhaps a rather unusual fashion, this venture helps to support two groups within Hebron – The Youth Fellowship and the Men’s Fellowship. Each spring the budget for each of these groups reflect monies to be used to purchase cattle. Each fall, that investment is sold, and in most every year, a profit is realized. Fence repair and pasture upkeep is a shared responsibility of the two groups. Of course, given the Hewitt family’s generous contribution of such things as hauling, veterinary treatment, salt and marketing expertise, the chances for profit are dramatically improved. In other words, don’t try this unsupervised! Many folks contribute their talents and money in different ways. This is perhaps somewhat unusual, but one that works towards God’s praise and honor with great results. C. Drumheller November 6, 2003
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